Several foreigners including many nationals of Arab countries were among the dead, officials said on Sunday.

AFP have put together a breakdown of the nationality of the dead and wounded known so far given by their respective countries.

Saudi Arabia – Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul said that Saudis were among the victims, but gave no figures. The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper however quoted a consulate source as saying that five Saudis including two women had died and 11 other people were injured. Al-Arabiya television also spoke of five dead and nine wounded.

Jordan – The foreign ministry in Amman said three Jordanians were killed and four injured, the official Petra news agency reported.

Iraq – A spokesman for Iraq’s foreign ministry said that three Iraqis died in the attack.

Lebanon – The Lebanese foreign ministry announced the death of three Lebanese and said another four were wounded. “I was saved by my passport which I was carrying right near my heart,” one of the injured, Francois al-Asmar, told Lebanese television from his hospital bed.

Tunisia – The Tunisian foreign ministry said on its Facebook page that two Tunisians died, with media reports saying the victims were a businessman and his wife.

India – India’s external affairs minister said two nationals were among the dead, naming them as Abis Rizvi, the son of a former MP, and a woman, Khushi Shah.

Belgium – Belgium’s foreign ministry confirmed that a man in his 20s, a Belgian-Turkish dual national, was killed.

France – Paris said a French-Tunisian dual national woman had died along with her Tunisian husband. It was not immediately known if they were among the dead listed by Tunis. Another three French people were injured, the foreign ministry said.

Libya – One Libyan was killed and three others hurt in the attack, according to the north African country’s foreign ministry.

Morocco – Three Moroccans were wounded, the MAP news agency quoted the embassy in Ankara as saying.

Hello, Nicola Slawson here in London, taking over from Jamie. Here’s an update from our correspondent, Kareem Shaheen, in Istanbul:

One important question that has been raised is how the assailant managed to escape even though the police response was quite swift to the attack, since there is a police station just across the street from Reina. There are over 300 security cameras in the club and the surrounding area so investigators are combing through security cam footage. One theory, believed by some who have seen some of the footage, is that the attacker, who left his gun at the scene, may have pretended to be an injured civilian in the immediate aftermath and chaos.

Evening summary

A manhunt is on for an attacker who shot dead 39 people and wounded 69 others during a New Year’s Eve celebration at an upmarket Istanbul nightclub. Turkish officials said it was a lone gunman but some survivors described seeing multiple attackers.

A Turkish opposition MP said at least 24 of those killed were foreign nationals, higher than the 15 cited by Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu. CHP MP said 11 Turks, seven Saudi Arabians, three Iraqis, two Lebanese, two Tunisian, two Indian and a Kuwaiti, a Syrian, and an Israelis are among the dead. A Belgian citizen who is originally Turkish, and a Canadian-Iraqi were also killed, she said. The Jordanian foreign ministry said three of its citizens were killed.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Reina club,which is thought to have had up to 600 people inside at the time. The club is an exclusive hotspot popular with tourists and local residents that sits on the bank of the eastern side of the Bosphorus.

President Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey would “fight to the end” against all forms of terrorism. He accused the perpetrators of trying to “create chaos, demoralise our people, and destabilise our country”.

Witnesses reported a rush for the exits, bodies lying on the floor and people jumping into the water to escape the gunman. One survivor said the gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) during the attack.

There has been condemnation from across the world with the US State Department describing it as “heinous” and Barack Obama offering his condolences. The Russian president Vladimir Putin said it was “hard to imagine a more cynical crime” and Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims.

Leanne Nasser, 19, from the Israeli-Arab town of Tira Nasser was killed while celebrating with three friends. Her friend Ruaa Mansour, also 18, was moderately wounded in the attack. The other two friends were unharmed. A Lebanese man, Haykal Musallem, was at the club with his wife of five months when he was killed, a friend said. A security guard at the club, Fatih Çakmak, Turkish police officer, Burak Yildiz, 22, and 47-year-old travel agent Ayhan Arik, were also reportedly killed. Çakmak reportedly survived twin bombings outside a football stadium in Istanbul on 10 December, which killed 45 people.

Mehmet Görmez, Turkey’s most senior cleric, has condemned the attack as “savagery” and a “massacre that no Muslim conscience can accept”.

Conservative politicians and media who criticised the concept of New Year celebrations have come under scrutiny in the wake of the attack. An opposition politician called for those responsible for “messages which can damage our social peace” to resign.

Hi, Jamie Grierson in London here, taking over from Haroon. Here’s some updated advice from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). A brief statement on the department’s website reads:

On 1 January 2017, there was an attack on the Reina nightclub in Ortakoy, Istanbul, causing a large number of casualties. There is an ongoing police operation in Istanbul as a result of the attack, and the attacker may still be at large. You should exercise vigilance and caution at this time, and follow the advice and instructions of the security authorities.

Charbel Wardini, from Lebanon, told AP that his 26-year-old brother, Elias, was among those killed in the attack.

He said:

I lost my brother because of terrorism. If you tell me terrorism, I will go fight against them.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said seven Lebanese were wounded in the attack.Lebanon’s foreign ministry reported earlier that the daughter of member of parliament Estephan El Douaihy was among those injured.

The Lebanese government plans to send a jet to Istanbul on Sunday night with a medical team and relatives of the wounded in order to bring them back to Beirut.

At the forensic institute in Istanbul, Kareem Shaheen spoke to Stephanie Deek, a Lebanese woman whose friend was with her husband, Haykal Musallem, at Reina when the attack happened. Musallem was killed.

Deek said:

They were just tourists, married for five months, and they wanted to find the perfect place to spend New Year’s Eve.

She said when the attack happened the husband was in the bathroom and the wife at the table. She ran out when the shooting started but the husband was caught in the midst of the attack and died.

Deek tried to contact them as soon as she heard of the attack, and was there to try and identify the body but had to wait outside and was visibly agitated. She said:

'24 foreigners killed' - Turkish MP

Kareem Shaheen

Selina Dogan, a CHP [the main opposition party] MP who toured the hospitals and the morgue, said 11 Turks, 24 foreign nationals and four whose nationality has yet to be ascertained were killed in the attack.

She said the nationalities of the dead included Saudi Arabian (seven) Iraqi (three), Lebanese (two), Tunisian (two) Indian (two) and one each from Kuwait, Syria, and Israel. A Belgian citizen who is originally Turkish, and a Canadian-Iraqi were also killed.

One of the Kuwaiti wounded told visitors that the assailant was shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).

The survivors they spoke to all said there were multiple assailants, although Turkish authorities have said there was a lone attacker, and some said they were in contact with each other on walkie talkies.

All of the dead had gun wounds caused by a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Of the dead, 25 are men and 14 women. Eleven bodies have already been handed over to their families for burial.

Two of the dead are believed to be Saudi twins but they haven’t been formally identified yet.

Turkish media say the victims of the attack include a police officer and a travel agent, AP reports.

State-run Anadolu news agency reported that the body of 22-year-old police officer Burak Yildiz was en route to his hometown in the southern city of Mersin. Yildiz, who had been on the force for one-and-a-half years, was shot and killed outside the Reina nightclub.Private Dogan news agency reports that 47-year-old travel agent Ayhan Arik, a father of two, was another of the first victims of the early morning attack. The news agency says the gunman shot Arik in the head outside the club.